100 Fun Facts About Ibiza

August 15, 2016

Think you know your stuff when it comes to Ibiza? See how many of these 100 Ibiza facts you know!

Nature

1.On Ibiza, there is sunshine for 10 hours a day, 300 days per year.
2.The ground on Ibiza is orange. This is because of the pine trees that grow across the island. When their needles fall, the tannins within seep into the ground, dying it the distinctive orange colour.
3.There is no fresh running water on Ibiza, at least not on the surface anyway. The island’s only river is practically dry, and the island’s fresh water supply is welled from deep underground.
4.Ibiza isn’t really an island. Millions of years ago, the Mediterranean basin was flooded by the Atlantic, creating the Mediterranean Sea and leaving the mountain tops that are now the Balearic Islands poking out of the surface.
5.The rocky islands to the east of Ibiza are considered to be the 3rd most magnetic spot on the globe. Es Vedra is supposed to contain such an unusual mixture of minerals and elements that they interfere with magnetic equipment. Some of the hippy community who were around Ibiza in the 1960’s still claim Es Vedra is a beacon to guide Aliens to earth.

6.Ibiza’s famous salt flats have been in use for over 2000 years. As water evaporates in the summer, a sparkling layer of pure salt is left at the bottom of the lakes – making for incredible photos.
7. The water around the island is so clear because of Neptune grass, seaweed that keeps the water clean and pure.
8. Wherever you stay on the island, you’re never more than an hour’s drive from a beach.
9. The longest beach on the island is Playa d’en Bossa. It offers the widest range of watersport activities and home to numerous clubs and bars.
10. Ibiza has 57 different beaches!
11. In the last 20 years, its only snowed twice on Ibiza.
12. Ibiza is the second largest Balearic Island.
13. Not just great for on shore entertainment, Ibiza also has plenty of great diving spots.
14. The average temperatures in Ibiza remain above 20ºC for more than 8 months of the year.
15. The highest point on the island is Sa Talaiassa, at just 475 metres above sea level.

16. There are over a dozen different boat party hosts on Ibiza, and party boats depart every day of the week during high season.
17. The world’s biggest nightclub is Privilege Ibiza, which can hold up to 11,000 revellers and boasts its own swimming pool.
18. The oldest club on Ibiza is Pacha, founded in 1973.
19. Freddie Mercury once had a two-week long party at Pike’s.
20.The Ibiza White Parties come from the tradition of wearing white on the island to represent the almond blossoms that cover it, and the reflection of the sun on the water.
21. A bottle of water in an Ibiza club can cost anything from a whopping €8 up to, and sometimes over, €15.
22. Techno legend Sven Vath first came to Ibiza in 1980, after hitchhiking from Frankfurt.
23. In an attempt to target a quieter and more cultured tourism scene, local government now ensures all nightclubs are closed by the sensible hour of 6am.

24. When it first opened in the 1980s, Amnesia’s opening hours were 3am to midday. It now opens from midnight until 6am.
25. Some DJs earn over £50,000 per performance in Ibiza – even one who famously played from a pre-recorded CD.
26. There are six different ‘superclubs’ in Ibiza – Pacha, Space, Amnesia, Privilege, Eden and Es Paradis.
27. After 27 successful years, Space nightclub is being sold at the end of 2016. It will be taken over by the brains behind equally renowned venue Ushuaia.
28. Ibiza’s Hard Rock Hotel was the first Hard Rock beach venue in Europe.
29. Until the regulations changed, meaning that clubs have to close by 6am, it was possible to party for 22 hours a day in Ibiza.
30. By night, you can often join in a raucous foam party, where crowds are literally covered in foam as they dance. Don’t wear anything that can’t get wet!

31. This little island has a buzzing LGBT+ scene. There’s more than 30 clubs, bars and hotels with Calle de la Vilgen acting as the main LGBT+ hub.
32. When famous DJ Carl Cox first came to Ibiza, he slept in the back of a car. Today he is worth millions and has run his hugely successful club night at Space for 16 years.
33. The international DJ Awards happen every year on Ibiza, and includes a Bedroom DJ award for wannabe dancefloor heroes.
34. Radio 1 DJ Lisa I’Anson was famously sacked from her Ibiza breakfast show after partying so hard at Manumission that she failed to arrive at the studio in time.
35. Zoe Ball also suffered on a famous morning-after, making it to the studio two minutes prior to the start of her show, and seeming rather worse for wear as it was aired.
36. Privilege – currently the biggest nightclub in the world – started out as a community swimming pool.

37. The first beach bar in Ibiza was the Tropicana, immortalised by Wham!’s popular song of the same name.
38. Entrance into clubs on the island can cost anything from 10 to 80 euros – or more, if you’re looking to go VIP.
39. Sean Combs – also known as Puff Daddy or P.Diddy – is a regular at popular underground venue DC10, so close to Ibiza airport that low-flying planes seem within reaching distance.
40. Paris Hilton hosts her own night at Amnesia, adding DJing to her seemingly endless list of talents…
41. Club DC10 used to be an aircraft hangar, and shares its name with a type of three-engine jetliner.
42. Some of the most hedonistic parties ever to happen on the island were at Manumission nights, which were once recognised by the Guinness Book of Records as the world’s biggest party.
43. Your own VIP table at one of the superclubs could set you back as much as 6,000 euros.

History

44. According to legend, Nostradamus predicted that due to the unique winds around the island, Ibiza may well be the only place to survive an impending nuclear holocaust.
45. Ibiza has previously been claimed by just about everyone – Spanish, French, Greek and Roman empires, as well as Norwegians on a crusade to Jerusalem and British sailors on their way between Gibraltar and Menorca.
46. The settlers who founded Ibiza originally named it Ibozzim, and dedicated the island to Bes – the God of music and dance.
47. In 2007 the Ibizan government declared that all new hotels in Ibiza had to be 5* (or more) – only the best for this glamorous destination!
48. The burial grounds at Puig des Molins in Ibiza Town are home to the world’s largest collection of Punic artefacts – most of which have been discovered in graves, where people were buried with utensils and objects to help them in the next life.
49. Ulysses is said to have heard sirens singing in Homer’s Odyssey at the famous Es Vedra rock.
50. In the middle ages, Ibizan monks started to produce their own herbal liquor – and you can still buy the aniseed-flavoured concoction, Hierbas Ibicencas, today!

51. The Ibiza hound, sometimes known as Ivicene, is said to be descended from ancient Egyptian hunting dogs.
52. Hotel Espana in Ibiza town was the first hotel to open on the Island, on September 18th 1932. It collapsed shortly afterwards.
53. The Montesol is the oldest hotel on the island that still runs today. It first opened as the Grand Hotel in June 1933.
54. The International Music Summit started in Ibiza in 2008.
55. Every Sunday at Benniras’ beach, you can see dozens of drummers performing as the sun goes down.
56. Ibiza and Formentera were once used as a base by Cilician pirates.
57. Despite being smaller than the Isle of Wight, Ibiza used to have its own football team, SD Ibiza.
58. Visit Dalt Vila – Ibiza’s old town – to check out an ancient castle and harbour, as well as a 14th-century cathedral and the 16th-century church of Santo Domingo.
59. The Ibiza Rocks hotel launched in 2005, bringing live bands to the island and creating a hub for alternative genres of music to be showcased.

General Knowledge

60. The correct pronunciation of the island’s name is ‘Evissa’.
61. As well as being a clubbers’ paradise, Ibiza is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site thanks to its architecture, coastline and sea life.
62. The official language of Ibiza is Eivissenc. The Balearic Islands all use Spanish and Catalan, but Ibiza, Formentera and S’espalmador – also known as the Pityusic Islands – all retain the Eivissenc dialect as their official mother tongue.
63. Not many people know this, but Ibiza is a fine wine producer and the connoisseurs appreciate the excellent bouquet of the red and white wine made here.
64. One of Ibiza’s delicacies is called Sant Joan’s Weird Macaroni. Why is it weird? It’s cooked in water with milk, cinnamon, sugar and lemon – giving it a rice pudding-like finish.
65. Ibiza attracts nearly six million tourists a year – not bad for a 571km2 island with a population of around 150,000 people.

66. 20% of the local population are foreigners – mainly from EU countries, with Germany being the biggest supplier of foreign labour.
67. 75% of Ibiza’s population get their income from local tourism.
68. As well as the abundance of busy nightclubs, there are also hundreds of yoga retreats available on Ibiza for holidaymakers looking to unwind.
69. Ibiza has its own waterpark – Aquamar in Playa d’en Bossa.
70. Known to many resort staff as the Happy Train or the Fun Train, the hop-on hop-off Ibiza Express is a small, cartoon-like train that works out as the most cost-effective way to get around the island.
71. With traditional siestas closing many shops and restaurants around midday, it is usual for venues to stay open late, with many locals not heading out for dinner until around 10pm.
72. There are five naturist beaches on Ibiza, although only two are official.

73. If you’re looking to move to Ibiza, be warned – it is the second most expensive place to buy a house in Spain, beaten only by Madrid.
74. More than 120 cruise ships stop off in Ibiza every year.
75. This year, Ibiza will host its very first Holi festival of colour – a traditionally Hindu paint-throwing festival which has spread around the world.
76. A throwback to Ibiza’s 60s roots, Ibiza is home to two “hippy markets” – Punta Arabi in Es Cana and Las Dalias in San Carlos.
77. There is a Spanish word for the tiny beachside venues selling snacks and sangria around the island – Chiringuitos.
78. The world’s most expensive restaurant, Sublimotion, is at the Hard Rock Hotel in Ibiza. Charging 1,500 euros per head, Sublimotion provide private three-hour dinner “shows” to groups of 12 guests at a time, with audio-visual and virtual reality accompaniments.
79. You can be on Ibiza in just a two-and-a-half-hour flight from London.

80. Bullit de Peix – Spanish fish stew – is a traditionally Ibizan dish, and there are plenty of places to tuck in to the fresh catch of the day around the island.
81. There is a car named after this dance music destination – the SEAT Ibiza.
82. Ibiza airport handles more than 57,000 flights a year.
83. Renting a villa in Ibiza could set you back more than £50,000 a week, or just £72 a night depending on which one you choose.
84. Ibiza’s Can Marca caves play host to a music and light show, with the ancient pools lit in eerie colours.
85. The island is divided into five provinces – Eivissa the capital, Santa Eularia, Sant Antoni, Sant Josep and Sant Joan. Each province has its advantages and secret hotspots, but it’s worth knowing that San An currently has the cheapest pints.

86. Famous director Orson Welles lived on Ibiza, and shot 70’s fraud hit ‘F for Fake’ there.
87. Ibiza has its own beer called ‘Islena – The Taste of Ibiza’. This beer is made from Ibizan barley, although it is bottled abroad in Germany.
88. An Ibizan beekeeper was once sentenced to 10 years in prison after failing to report a fire that had started on his land, which spread across the island, burning 1,500 hectares.
89. The Pityusic Islands translates to “pine islands”, presumably named for the abundance of pine trees that cover them.
90. Tourism brings such a boost to the local economy that unemployment is at just 4.2% – compared to the Spanish national average of 14%. Not bad!
91. Ibiza has its very own cricket team – the Ibiza Cricket Club, founded in 1986.

Other celebrity moments

92. Sid Vicious of Sex Pistols fame lived on Ibiza during his childhood.
93. The video for Wham’s ‘Club Tropicana’ was filmed at Ibiza’s famous Pike’s Hotel.
94. Vengaboy’s 1999 hit “We’re Going to Ibiza” won an NME Award for Worst Single in 2000.
95. Celebrity DJ couple Zoe Ball and Fatboy Slim first met in Ibiza.
96. David Cameron sometimes rents an £11,000 per week holiday home on Ibiza. He once hosted an ‘Ibiza Rave’ themed birthday party there for his wife.
97. Mike Oldfield featured mystical Ibiza outcrop Es Vedra on his 1996 Voyager album cover, and the island inspired his Tubular Bells III album in 1998.
98. James Blunt owns a villa in Ibiza, and once got into trouble for hosting his wedding on a beach there without getting permission first!
99. While there is no official Miss Ibiza contest at present, Lineker’s Bar run an annual Miss Lineker’s contest, where aspiring beauty queens can compete to win cash prizes and holiday goodies.

And number 100…

Ok, this might not strictly be a be a fact, but it’s fair to say that this year’s party season has been bigger and better than ever. With club nights dancing right through to the autumn though, there’s plenty of time to get in on the action, just in case the long, hot Ibiza summer isn’t enough!